The present disclosure relates to a vertical light-emitting diode device and a method of fabricating the same. The formation of the vertical light-emitting diode device may include forming holes in an n-type GaN layer, forming a sidewall, which is made of a metal, metal alloy, or dielectric material, on an inner side surface of each of the holes, and growing a metal oxide structure from a bottom surface of each of the holes.
Thus, when light is totally reflected inward from an interface between the n-type GaN layer and the air, the light may be emitted through the metal oxide structure. This may make it possible to realize a vertical light-emitting diode device with high light extraction efficiency.
A light-emitting diode (LED) has several advantages, such as long lifetime, low power consumption, excellent initial drive property, high vibration resistance, and high tolerance for repetitive power interruptions, compared with a light-emitting diode device using a filament, and thus, the demand for the LED device is steadily increasing. Recently, there is an increasing interest in using a group III nitride semiconductor compound, which can emit a short wavelength of light (e.g., blue light), to a LED device.
For a nitride light-emitting diode, light generated in an active layer is emitted through a nitride semiconductor layer. However, due to a large difference in refractive index between the nitride semiconductor layer and the air, a critical angle is very small, and thus, a large fraction of light is totally reflected. Accordingly, an amount of light to be emitted to the outside from the nitride semiconductor layer is reduced.